Poisoned Love
by KatastroSheep
Summary: She hated him, absolutely despised him even. But when you strip away the past, is he really that bad of a guy?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The distant hum of a clusterfuck of raging thoughts is what pulls the unfortunate poison slayer to a painful consciousness. Cobras body aches in places he didn't even think could ache and his head feels like it's been thrown in a blender with thousands of needles, each needle threaded with different thoughts and emotions as they pierce through his skull. He never hated his soul hearing as much as he did at that very moment.

He can't help the groan that slips from his lips as he tries to move, starting a riot in his joints. But despite his muscles screaming in protest he still tries to get up. He needs to leave. Now. He doesn't have a inkling of a clue just where the fuck he is, but he definitely doesn't have to open his eyes to know its the last place he wants to be right now. He can't quiet place his finger on why, but he just knows there's something wrong. He lays lax against the bed as his mind tries to put together just why he's here, but he can't quiet grasp the pieces. He must have been in a fight.. That much is obvious. He can't see himself getting into this much pain without someone to inflict it, but... Everything's a haze. It feels like his memories are taunting him. Dangling from a string, lowered just in his grasp. But every time he reaches for them, a higher being tugs it just out of his reach with a sadistic laugh.

"I take it your awake." The voice makes him flinch, thus only causing more pain. He was really hoping he wouldn't have to deal with people right now.

"It would be best if you didn't try to move." The most unamused elderly voice he's ever heard says. He doesn't recognize it, at least he doesn't think he does. His mind is bathed in a painful fog so think, he doubts he would be able to tell, even if he did happen to know her. He opens his single amethyst eye and is quickly greeted by a harsh light seemingly pointed right into his pupil. He shuts his eye hard. He doesn't have anymore eyes left if he looses this one, and being cooped up in darkness with only thoughts to keep him same doesn't sound too ideal, especially when your brain is threatening to bang it's way out your skull because of those said thoughts.

He tosses to his side, barely managing not to cry out in pain. Instead, he gasps. A much quieter and less pathetic-sounding alternative, but the sudden intake of air leaves his lungs in a 'who can burn the most' contest. He starts to cough, which quickly turns to full-body hacking. His throat burns and his eye waters and the only thing he can do his dig his claws into the bed beneath him. Its about when his stomach starts to spur his lungs on with a cheerleading act does the woman acknowledge his pain.

"Drink this" His eye slowly opens and this time adjusts to the bright light glaring down on him. His vision is blurry, but he can make out the wrinkled hand holding a small glass of purple liquid to his lips. He isn't in any position to, well, do anything at all really, so he's forced to let the woman tip the glass just as he inhales between coughing fits. He isn't sure if it was her intention of not, but he inhales the liquid surprisingly easily. A warmth flares down his throat and up his nasal as the taste of bleach fills his mouth. His coughing quickly slows, the mysterious liquid soothing his lungs and somehow convincing his stomach to calm down. It feels very much like poison washing through his system, but not quite.

"Spit." His eyebrows furrow at the command. Not that he's not all for spitting in the floor of this god forsaken place, he doubts she would want him to.

"Yes, on the floor, child. You've already made a mess of it." He spits the alarming amount of blood out of his mouth and watches it splat to the floor along with the rest that he coughed up a minute ago. He watches the red liquid inch its way into a larger puddle, coating the tiles below and seeping into the cracks. He gasps for breath as his mind races a mile a minute.

Why is he here?

He closes his eye and tries to recall something, anything, but that god damned haze his too think. Not to mention all the voices. How many damned people can be in this place anyway? Speaking of which, where even is this place? He opens his eye again and glances around. He doesn't dare move his body, so he's stuck looking at the white tiles coating the floor and a white and grey striped curtain hanging down beside his bed. From there it doesn't take him long to figure hes in an infirmary. He can smell the various medicines and concoctions and wishes he could drink every one of them. The smell of the chemicals is highly compelling, but that could have everything to do with the fact that most would contain traces of poisonous substances.

"Drink" The one-eyed slayer is all to willing to drink the puke-green liquid, even though it tasted like mustard and coffee swirled together. He counts his breaths as he waits for the effect. By the time he gets to 140 he starts to realize this pain isn't going to go away simply by drinking a liquid. No, of course not. Nothing is that easy for him.

"Drink." Another flask is pressed to Cobras lips. Then another, and another, and another..

Its only when he swallows about the 13th one, with no effect once-so-ever, does he start to refuse.

"Whats your name" The woman doesn't seem at all bothered by his resistance, instead just returns to wherever it is she goes when she leaves his line of sight.

"Cobra." He notices his throat feels a lot better, but he doubts she gave him 13 damned potions just to cure a sore throat.

"Age" His eyes widen as he falters. He quickly scrambles through his mind, trying to find something, anything. A fragment of a memory that would give him an age, even a birth date would be great. But nothing. All he can remember is a handful of stray memories of random events in his past. Not enough to know his exact age, that's for sure. He closes his eyes, sifting through the small snippets he has over and over for what feels like hours. Each and every time he comes out with nothing. Its all just a blur of faces he doesn't recognize and patchy events. Tower of Heaven.. Oracion Seis.. Infinity Clock.. The words seem so familiar yet mean absolutely nothing at the same time. One thing he can tell for sure; he did some shitting things to a lot of innocent people

"Can you tell me the last thing you remember doing?" Her voice pulls him from his thoughts and back to his painful reality. The last think he remembers doing... An all-too-vivid memory of a girl with purple hair pops to the forefront of his mind. The voices and the pain settle on the backburner of his mind as he struggles to put a name to her face. He remembers her cupping his cheek, and he has a strong feeling that she means a lot more than all those other people who flashed by. The fact he can still clearly remember her features perfectly is enough to prove that. But still, he cant quiet place it.. An exaggerated sigh is what breaks his concentration, his mind quicly loosing grip of the memory until the woman blurs into nothingness. His hand reaches out, as if he can physically grasp it. However, all he gets is pain. The truth crashes down upon him and he struggles not to show any emotion as he realize just what happened.

Some fucker hit him in the head a little too hard and now he cant remember shit. Hes torn between anger and sadness but, since sadness seems way more pathetic to have to, he lets the anger have center ring.

"Can you recite the alphabet?" She asks from somewhere out of his view.

"I know my fucking abc's" He mutters, but mentally recites them to make sure. He finds he does indeed know his alphabet, along with a fuckton of other useless information that he cant even remember acquiring. Well isn't that just fucking fantastic. He doesn't remember just what the hell landed him in an infirmary with a broken body, but he knows the behavioral patterns of god damned snakes.

"Hm.. I assumed as much" The woman crosses his vision and fades from it just as quickly in her crossing to the other side of the room. "If that's the case, theres not much more I can do for you, child. To my knowledge, you were a criminal with no close friends or any family. I was informed you didn't have any deep ties with anyone, and generally its those ties that trigger memories." He can hear her footsteps as she paces the tile floor. He groans and lets his arm fall lax and hang off the side of the bed. So, apparently, he was a asshole AND a loner. Great.

"Can you just give me some shitty potion to heal me already?" He mutters and glares off at the curtain like it was their stripes that took his memories.

"Youll be better once you get some rest." Rest, ha, funny one. You try resting when you body feels like its just been used as a base ball and you've just been told you've got no memories with no guarantee to get them back. He would assume she's kidding, but she doesn't seem like the type to kid.

"I could give you a sedative." She offers with a sigh, probably coming to the realization that there's not an ice cube's chance in hell that hes getting sleep.

"A sedative would be great"

A/N: I know, I know. This was a really short chapter, but I just thought id do and introduction of sorts. I swear ill try my best to make them longer once I get into the actual plot stuff. I'm not the best with beginnings. Also! I apologize if some characters go ooc, especially cobra. Well, I can blame his ooc-ness on the amnesia.. but that doesn't mean I'm not still trying to stay true to his character, its just its a little difficult since there isn't a whole lot oof his character to mention I'm not too experienced with fanfiction (or really writing in general) but I read a lot of it myself and I wanted to take a crack at it. I hope it wasn't too terrible ^^'


	2. Chapter 2

"You may come in" Porlyusica says with a roll of her eyes. She's been hearing hushed voices outside the infirmary door for about twenty minutes now and needless to say it's only adding to her annoyance. It's bad enough the master called her in when she was hardly even needed, but to top off the inconvenience cake, she had to deal with those rowdy children riled up to ten kinds of hell.

"Does he really not remember anything?" The celestial Mage asks quietly no sooner than she gets through the door, followed by a small purple haired girl Porlyusica had never officially met before. It isn't a surprise the blond was determined to wait hours to see him, her compassion is far beyond the typical, but the newer fairy.. Granted, she doesn't know all that much about her, but she finds it hard to believe the soft spoken bar maid would have any interest in this man.

"Appears so." Is all the answer the elderly healer gives. She has her suspicions about the slayers's honesty, but she doesn't voice them. It's not her business whether he's lying or not, she's simply here to heal. And since she has done all she can do in terms of healing, hopefully she'll be able to be out of this place before sundown.

"Are you leaving..?" The smaller girl of the two asks quietly as she packs her stuff in the small bag she had brought. If she had known there was a chance she had to stay here overnight she might have brought more than a small suitcase of potions.

"Hopefully"

"Is he gonna be okay?"

"I don't know"

"Isnt there anything you can do about his memory?

"No"

"Do you think he will ever get it back?"

"I don't know."

"How much did he rememb-"

Porlyusica cuts the purple-haired girl off by shoving a large bottle of blue liquid into her hands roughly. "If he starts to wake up in pain, give him just a sip of this. I cant offer the answers you seek, but no ones stopping you from asking him yourself" She makes her way to the door, all too eager to remove herself from the girls presence. Whoever she is, shes awfully worried about the criminal. The blonde, on the other hand, keeps quiet about her worry, if shes worried to begin with. She takes a seat on the bed next to Cobra's with no further question, which the Porlyusica cannot be thankful enough for.

'Damned kids..' She huffs and quickens her steps down the hall. The last thing she wants right now is to be stopped by someone with even more questions, more than likely ones she doesnt even have answers to. Why those children care so much about a wretched criminal is beyond her. She gets to Makarovs door in record time, knocking against it hard enough to wake him, had he been sleeping.

"Come in." His voice sounds weighted with concern, and the way he sits stiffly on his suddenly cluttered desk further shows it. Finally, a somewhat reasonable response for having a criminal laying, uncontained, in your infirmary. "Are you leaving already?" His bushy brows furrow together as if its the strangest thing in the world. Shes been here for nearly 12 hours, that's far more than enough time in her opinion.

"Don't look so confused. You didn't even need me in the first place. We both know wendy is more than capable of handling a few bruises and burns" She stresses the youngest slayers name, as if saying it with any more emphasis would make the master force the sky slayer to see reason. For one reason or another, Wendy refused to be near him. Especially in the half-awake state he was brought in at. Porlyusica always had a soft spot for that child, but never has she wanted to smack her upside the head more for making her come all the way out her just because she was scared of touching a criminal that didn't even have the capability to move. Hell, he probably wont be able to move for a few days, but shes still willing to bet Wendy still wont help him. She sighs heavily and looks up at the tiny master pacing the surface of his desk.

"I understand you said he had a pretty sever case of amnesia, but.. Is there any way you can, perhaps, prob his mind to test his word?" She has to fight the urge to face palm at the question. She possesses no magic, and this guild has no medical machinery at its disposal. What does he expect her to do, stick a tube in his ear and take a look?

"Perhaps Wendy can" Its a longshot at best, but as long as the master believes its a possibility he will be further convinced to make the slayer finally grow up. He only shakes his head. Of course, did she honestly expect him to push his children in any way? How foolish of her.

"Knowing everything he's done.. I don't blame her for refusing" His eyes trail down to the floor, no doubt in thought. To her knowledge, he's directly injured several of their members and even tried to sacrifice one to a clock. Not to mention the onslaught of innocents he killed. He's got quite the criminal record, although he hasn't made much trouble as of late. Probably intending to make the council get off his back. But she's in no position to assume things about people she hardly knows.

"Yet the very person he almost killed is sitting nearly next to him. It will do no good to baby them, Dreyar." Her eyes narrow when his gaze meets hers.

"I know how to treat my children. And frankly, that man deserves a little pain." Makarov gets that look in his eyes, that childish stubbornness that he should have long outgrew. It's apparent she will never win with this man, so she saves herself the trouble of even trying.

"Well if you need me, please hesitate to call." And with the stone cold farewell (if you can even consider it a farewell) she turns on her heal and leaves.

Lucy's POV

I'm not sure how much time has passed when his body finally moved from what could very well be the worlds most uncomfortable position. His arm is awkwardly hanging off the bed at an angle that digs the corner of the mattress into the top of his lower arm, and his other arm is laid flat in a position that makes me think it just might be broken. His body probably feels terrible after that fight.. Natsu truly did go overboard, and not in his usual 'oops I blew up the entire building' overboard, it's much more severe. Cobra had done nothing to warrant his wrath, yet even I was ready to call Taurus just for the simple fact that we happened to cross paths. Now, thanks to a rough blow to the back of his skull, everything he knows is gone. Literally. I really could care less for the poison slayer, but.. Even if he did try to sacrifice me to a damned clock, he doesn't deserve this.

A deep groan tugs me from my thoughts, which is probably for the best. I already feel like I'm drowning in a sea of guilt, and i didn't do anything to him.. But I didn't do anything to stop Natsu, either. In a way, I wanted him to suffer. But not like this, this is beyond suffering.. He isn't even allowed to grieve for what he lost, because he can't remember it.

His eye slips open and stares lazily down at the floor. I watch as he tries to move his limbs. It hurts me just as much to watch the pain in his features. The way his body flinches with each movement and anger swirls in his single amethyst eye. He has every right to be pissed.

He's able to push himself to a sit, which must be a good sign. When he first was brought in he was hardly able to breath regularly on his own. At least he's healing nicely. Either that or he's as stubborn as Natsu when it comes to pain. I'm willing to bet it's the latter, judging by how his jaw clenched and his nails dig into the mattress when he can manage to even move his legs to a more comfortable position. He still somehow manages to look intimidating even when he's so weak..

I shift uncomfortably when I realize his eye has lifted to bore right into mine. God, he makes scary look soo good.. Oh my god wait he can read my thoughts can't he? Oh Mavis please spare me.

I can feel my face going bright red as his eyes refuse to look away. I remember when my father once told me 'never part from an animals stare first, it shows weakness'. Cobra may not classify as an animal, but he comes pretty damned close. Oh god I wonder.. Nope. I'm NOT going down that path. We fall into an awkward staring contest and I have to struggle to keep my mind from the gutter. It's hard to not let it slip a little when he's half naked and staring at me like he just might devour me.

"Am I supposed to know you" He says in a raspy, oddly deep voice. My mouth opens and closes a few times as I struggle to shove down all my inappropriate thoughts -and mavis is there a lot- to try and find a decent answer to his question. He is, but I doubt he would remember me in the slightest, even if he had his memories.

"You tried to kill me once." I blurt before I can think better of it. "To sacrifice me to a clock." I quickly add, conviced it would make things a little better but no sooner than the words fell from my mouth I cringe. I mentally face palm. Now I probably sound insane! Good job, Lucy!

"Infinity clock?" His eyebrows furrow. His eye doesn't seem to be looking directly at me anymore, but past me. But.. Had he got the name from my thoughts? I doubt think I was thinking about the name. Could he search my mind as he pleases, even past my immediate thoughts? What about my memories? I don't know how comfortable I am with this..

"It sounded familiar." He clarified before I even have the change to ask. His eyes zone back on mine and resume our staring match. The silence feels thick enough to suffocate and I find myself wishing kinana hadn't left half an hour prior. Speaking of time, what time is it? I contemplate breaking my eyes away to look for a clock, but I decide against it. As if is lose that easily.

The faintest wisps of a smile twitch at his lips. "It's 10:34 pm" His voice is just as broken as it was before as he speaks. How did he know? "There's a clock on the wall to your right." I almost make the mistake of looking, but quickly stops myself. What a sly fox.. Though I'm not that stupid. I pull my legs up and fold them in a cross-cross position atop the infirmary bed. I'm glad I've decide to dress in jean shorts and a tank top, I don't think I'd want to walk around in sheer tops in front of a criminal. I definitely wouldn't put rape past him.

"Well your a little too full of yourself if you'd think I'd go out of my way to rape you" My face flames up as his words. Full of myself? As if.. Though it did sound kinda like that, but still. He seems like the pervy type. Every guy I've met so far is. Well, aside from Natsu. But he's so dense he probably doesn't even know what 'pervy' even means.

"Aren't you the charmer." I give the best sarcastic smile I can muster.

"Mhm, you really seem to think so at least." A small hint of a smirk slips through his near emotionless mask. My face heats up once again, and at this point the embarrassment is just getting annoying. He has such and advantage with the whole 'mind reading' thing. I bet if I got s peek into his brain he'd so be loosing this fight.

"Fight? You making it more than it is."

"Then how about you look away?" I suggest sweetly. As expected, he doesn't take his eye from mine. He just shrugs, a barely their movement. He's obviously still in pain, but to offer him the medicine Kinana left her would mean looking away.

"Maybe I'm just starin cause I like your eyes." Oh sweet Mavis have mercy, he sounded so hot as he said that.. I know it's probably a sore throat but god damn. Nope. No Lucy, don't do this. You should feel bad! You hurt him, you made him loose everything. Oh god I made him loose everything. He doesn't know who he is because of me. Maybe that's more beneficial for a lot of people, but still.. Just because he killed some people, harmed much more, and tried to sacrifice me doesn't mean doesn't deserve to remember who he is. Okay okay, when I put it like that it seems totally reasonable, but honestly.. He was just following orders. For all I know he could have been against it. Who am I to judge so quick?

"So... Do you really not remember anything?" I ask softly, hoping its just some lie. Natsu couldn't have hit him that hard.. right? There had been a lot of blood but, really now.. amnesia? It doesn't seem possible. Yet with the way he's sitting here, somewhat calm despite the fact hes sitting in the very guild he proved to hate, makes me believe it.

"No, its was all a lie. Just a clever plan the finish you off for good" He narrows his eyes with a growl. It takes everything I have not the break my eyes from his his hand lazily out stretches and sends a thin trail of poison whipping out towards me. No no he would have killed me way before if that was the case there's no way- Eep that came really close! I quickly scoot back as it narrowly misses my hair. The fact that it missed alone is enough to tell he isn't serious, but his dry chuckle is still just as reassuring.

"Damn and I thought I was stubborn.." He says so lightheartedly, but no sooner than the words leave his mouth his eye glosses over and he does that looking-at-me-but-not-really thing.

"Cobra?" I ask quietly, fearing that's all it took to trigger his memory. But that's what I want right, for him to be himself again? Althought I wouldn't mind if he decided to wait until he wasn't sitting our guild.. Time slows to a crawl as I wait for any sign that could perhaps lead to my swift demise, but nothing comes. He just sits there, his head seemingly in a different dimension entirely. Dear mavis kill me for even thinking it but, he actually looks kinda.. I don't know, cute? Its not a word I ever expected to associate with him, that's for sure.

"Call me cute and next time I might actually aim." I'm startled even further back on the bed by his sudden words. Despite having been staring at it for an incredible amount of time, I didn't notice the change in his eyes as his focus turned back to me.

"Well how about you get out of my head you creep.." I grumble and try to ignore the inferno flaring in my face for the millionth time. I don't think I ever blushed this much in the span of, what? Twenty minutes? This is just ridiculous..

He doesn't offer a response, and it only makes things so much more awkward. Why don't I just look away? What am I truly gaining here? Absolutely nothing. So why do I have this burning need to win this stupid little game? My fists clench in my lap as a struggle to find any rhyme or reason to my actions. He isn't a dog, I don't need to prove my fucking dominance. He's a criminal I just so happened to play a part in mentally crippling and I shouldn't even be near him this long in the first place! I should be telling someone he's awake, give him his medication, SOMETHING. Yet instead I'm sitting here in a pathetic staring match! And for what? Nothing! Mavis, I'm so stupid!

I listen to the seconds tick by, each one as painfully slow as the last as I wait for.. I don't know, anything. But he just sits there like a statue, hardly even blinking. I have to shift multiple times, suddenly aware of all my limbs and how uncomfortable they suddenly are. No position seems good enough as I move from criss cross, to sitting with my legs out, then a to sitting my legs, only to settle back on my earlier criss-cross. I clear my throat as a halfheartedly fix my hair just to occupy myself.

"So. You don't remember anyone?" I ask in hopes of starting some sort of conversation. Besides, if he remembers even one person he used to know it brings us that much closer to bringing him back to himself and getting his creepy ass out our guild.

"No" He says with about as much emotion as a pile of bricks. Ugh is he normally this difficult? I wouldn't doubt it. Stupid slayers and their stupid stubbornness. I drum my fingers on the fluffy blanket. If you cant beat them, join then, right? I try not to think of how slow time seems to be trudging along as I stare into his eyes and wait.

"Hnn..." I groan after the first minute pasts.

"Hnngggg" I groan louder after a few more. Who has this king of attention span.

"Uggghhh" I groan after what feels like an eternity as I flop on m stomach, my eyes of course still glued to his.

"Come on! This is ridiculous!" I whine, but all iget out of the one-eyed bastard is an amused smile. I huff and fold my arms under my chin and kick my feet up In the air.

"Am I interrupting something?" I tense at the sweet voice, quickly pushing myself up and-without a second thought- turning my head to look at the oldest Struass sibling that has somehow managed to click open the door without me noticing. She raises a brow with curiousity and I blush once a-fucking-gain as I realize how weird it mustve looked when she walked in.

"No, I.." I pause as my eyes widen as my eyes reel back to the smug looking poison slayer. "No wait that didn't count!" I shout a little louder than intended. Theres no way that's remotely fair! Mira distracted me, I want a rematch! Wait.. what am I even saying?

"What are you talking about?" His eyebrows furrow as if I'm insane, but I can see it the triumph in his eye.. And now hes making ME out to be the crazy one! Agh hes so lucky hes injured or id claw that eye of his out with a fork...

"Lucy are you feeling alright? He didn't do anything.. did he?" Miras delicate hand pats my back as I bury my face in the infirmary bed pillow.

"No... I'm fine... Just.. give him the stupid medicine or whatever..." I sigh and lift my head a little to look at him. Hes still staring at me, of course..

"Alright. Perhaps you should go home, the guild will be closing soon." She says softly and gives my back a final pat before pulling back. Almost closing? It was just 10 not too long ago.. I look around for a clock, but find none. Why that little.. My eyes lock with his and he gives me a small, almost taunting, smile. If the guild was amost closing it had to be near one in the morning! I came in here around 6pm.. Theres no way..

I huff and drag myself to a stand. "Are you leaving ass face in the guild alone..?' I grumble as I snatch my jacket up from where it had fallen on the ground.

"Unfortunately so. But he will be sedated." Mira sounds more than displeased with the idea, and frankly I'd be just as tense about it. What if he wakes up, with his memories no less? He could.. Well, now that I think about it I doubt there's much trouble he could cause when there's no one here. Hell, that would solve a world of problems if he happened to regain his memories tonight. He could just silently leave with no harm done if we're lucky.

"About that.. I think I'll pass on the whole sedative thing." He quickly speaks up when Mira pulls a large syringe from a nearby drawer. I stay I few moments longer, only to see him suffer at the wrath of the white-haired bar maid.

"Are you able to run?" Mira asks with an arch of her perfect brow.

"Probably." His answer is hesitant at best. Run? He could hardly sit up. He watches warily as she sinks the needles end into the light gray bottle and draws out a dull pink liquid.

"Then feel free to try and do so" I can only smile at the defeat in Cobras eye as he sticks out his arm and glares at the take-over Mage. It's better off like this anyway. If he managed to come this far healing wise over the course of a day, he should be nearly fine in two more days tops. Oh but wait... He hadn't had anything to eat, huh?

I quickly exit the room before I can voice my concern. He should be resting anyway, food can wait until tomorrow. Hopefully he'll be better by then..

I falter as I head down the hall, stoping entirely and glancing back to where I came. You know, he was almost decent. Just then, in the time I spent in there. He seemed fine enough. Maybe it was just whatever drugs he was given or perhaps the shock or pain of it all, but he had been calm. It was.. Kinda nice, actually. Much better than what he was. I know I'm being completely biased here, but I don't think it'll be all that bad for everyone else if he just... Stays like that. For a little while at least.

I start walking slowly, reminding myself how late it's gotten. I zip my jacket up and head down the steps to the first floor of the guild hall. All the lights are off aside from the bar's, leaving the place in a dim light. The only people left here are those who were passed out at tables (no doubt from one too many drinks), Lissana and Kinana, who are working to clean the place up. I glance over to the purple haired girl, looking her over. I don't know much about her at all, but she had been just as worried about him for some reason or another. I'm tempted to ask her why that is, but I pass it of as her just being a nice person. Besides, she looks exhausted.

I push through the guild doors and shiver as the chilly night air hits me.

I know Cobra has his own life, and I'm sure despite everything there has to be at least one person her cares about, or at lease one person that cares for him. It kills me to know that he might not be able to return to that. But yet I still can't shake this urge to know just what would happen if he doesn't go back to it all so soon. I want to know what he's like, truly like. Beyond the hatred and violence. But then again.. Could you really call what he is right now the same person as he was before?

I sigh and look up at the clear night sky as a walk. Oh Natsu, how do you always manage to get me into this kinda of shit..

A/N- Jeez I didn't know where I was going with this T-T . But I think it turned out decent. Sorry if it has more typos and such, I did this chapter on mobile and autocorrect can be a pain. Anyways, i sincerely hope you enjoyed ! I'm starting to really love this pairing and hopefully I'll be able to make the next chapters a little longer OvO


	3. Chapter 3

Walking into the guild this morning and weaving through the mayhem doesn't seem as bothersome as it normally is. Even though Elfman punched Gray right into me, landing the nearly naked man on top of me, I couldn't even be mad. Im glad to see the guild isn't too hung up over Cobra staying here. Seeing everyone going about their usual days, it gives the day a much needed dose of normalcy. I let my worries slip away for a few moments to enjoy the smoothie Mira so kindly provided me with no sooner than I sat down. I thank her, as always, and turn around in my seat to watch the events of the guild as I enjoy it's contents. The cool strawberry liquid slides down my throat and chills my unease right along with it.

I intend to go up to the infirmary for a little while. Really, it's just to check if everything is fine and to make sure someone fed him. If he's even awake, that is. It's nearing 11am, but if he's like any other slayer he won't be bright eyed and bushy tailed until well into the afternoon. Actually, I don't think hed ever be 'bright eyed and bushy tailed' now that I think about it.

"Planning on another day of sitting in the infirmary?" Lissana asks quietly, leaning over the counter to whisper in my ear. There's no need for the secrecy, whether master liked it or not word spread fast about the issue with cobra. They were pretty upset, most saying he doesn't deserve fairy tails hospitality. Granted, they've only been told he's unconscious from a nasty head wound and know nothing of the amnesia. Even if they were to know, I seriously doubt they'd care. Not that I blame them, he and his group had really put us through the ringer. But still..

"You really are worried about him, huh?" Lissana mutters when I don't reply.

"I just don't think he deserves this, is all. And to know I could have easily stopped it.. I'm not worried, I just feel I owe him, especially if this isn't fixed soon." I sigh and turn back around to face the youngest Strauss. My cheek comes down to rest on my palm as my heart starts to feel heavy in my chest. It's been a while since I harbored this much guilt.. With us, everything just seems to turn out okay in the end. No matter what we're thrown through, we always come out fine. I'm hoping the pattern continues here, but there's this nagging feeling telling me it's not going to be okay. And assuming that makes me feel even more obligated to help in any way I can.

"Lucy, he absolutely deserves this. Think of all his done. Especially to you. I will admit this is a cruel punishment, but he's done so much to earn it. You have to remember some people are just evil through and through." She takes my hand and squeezes it lightly with a sad smile. SHes the guilds resident sweetheart, and even she doesn't have not a lick of hope for him, and if she does she certainly doesn't show it.

"I guess" I stare down at the pristine counter top. I'm not going to argue with her, I know she feels just as strongly about being rid of the poison slayer as Mira does. Hell, even Erza is on board with handing him over to the council's care as soon as he's healed, and she's usually the reasonable one. I swirl my straw on the thick pink liquid. Truth be told, they're blowing things out of proportion. All of them. Most the members anger can be understandable, it would be a bad idea to keep him here had he had his memories. But amnesia makes everything so much different. Yet even those few who know are all on board with the 'dumb cobra off to the council like a meaningless sack of potatoes' plan.

I huff and push myself up to a stand, determination setting in place of the guilt. Determined to do what, exactly, I don't know. But I AM gonna go something. Even if that something starts with getting him food. A nod to myself, as if confirming the task, and break away from the sanctuary of the bar to slip through the crowd once again. I narrowly dodge a chair that was thrown from who-knows-where, and just barely step around a broken table before someone or another comes crashing into it. I squeak and sidestep out of the way just before Gray can fly into me for the second time this morning. Agh he lost his underwear too!

I shield my eyes and quickly scurry up the stairs to the second floor. Dear Mavis that boy needs to break that habit.

I only peek up from under the shield of my hands when I enter the hallway. The guild's noise starts to muffle the further I walk, and by time I reach the tan wood of the infirmary door the sounds are reduced to a low hum. I stare at the door a few moments, wondering if I should knock or not. It's the polite thing to do, but then again.. He wasn't too polite to me last night. In fact, he was kinda an ass. I step into the room without a knock, and it only just then dawns on me that it doesn't matter either way. He could hear me, which doesn't sit too well with me.

 **Cobra's POV**

"Good Morning" The blonde greets cheerfully. Id be lying of I didn't say I wasn't listening to her thoughts the moment I smelled her approaching the guild. What else am I supposed to do in this damned bed? Besides, her mind is much more interesting than the bunch of dumb fucks on the lower floor.

"Morning" I try not to sound as excited as I feel. Its hard not to be when you've spent the last 12 or so hours either in complete, palpable silence, or head pounding noise. Both of which sleep refused to save me from. To be honest, her soul was a saving grace of sorts. Lord knows no one in this building has a mind interesting enough to keep my attention for more than five minutes at most. Maybe that's because shes the only one in this building that isn't thinking about gutting me like a fish or sending me off to prison. Seriously, how much of a dick was I?

'They cuffed him. Of course they cuffed him. Why wouldn't they? As if sedatives weren't enough..' Her voice pushes itself to the front of my mind, filling my head with her almost soothing inner voice.

"Sedatives didn't work" I inform her. I doubt this girl has any authority over anyone, but perhaps she can make that bitch of a barmaid pull that stick from out of her ass and calm down with the worry and paranoia. The girl almost clocked me just because the drugs didn't work, and I would be grateful if she would have stopped at just knocking me out.

"Oh? They worked fine when you were brought here.." She trails off as her mind races off. She walks over to the counter at the far end of the room and looks over the several small, half full bottles of liquid. All of which have been injected into my skin in the same space of time. I'm no healer, but I'm pretty sure had not been for my tolerance towards the drugs I would have been dead. Either that or really fuckin high.

'Or perhaps it was the lack of blood that sent him under around the time the sedative was injected.' My eyes wander a little lower than they should as she examines the liquid in the bottles. 'But if his body absorbs toxins like that, then no medicine hes been taking would have any effect. I doubt he would heal this fast from just..'

"Oh! That's why your healing so quickly!" She spins around to face me and holds up the bottle with a triumphant smile. "You were pumped full of all these trace elements of toxins, being injected with your own element must hurry the process along! I know Natsu was always a lot more resilient to pain when he ate his element...I had just thought it was him being stubborn but I guess not. It makes sense, actually." She sloshes the liquid around In the glass before reading the small black print on the back. I don't even remember anything personal about myself yet I already know that was obviously the case. But I let her have her happiness, perhaps to make up for making her upset yesterday.

"So let me get this straight.. Since sedatives dont do shit I have to stay in cuffs, all because I just might cause harm? Im starting to think its reasonable to hate you shit heads."I scoff, but the way hope seems to just leak from her soul makes me wish a would have said something different. What the fuck was she hoping for? Actually, the better question would be why I care. According to literally everyone in this damned place I'm an asshole that can be bothered to give to shits about anyone. A criminal, a killer. So why the fuck am I pandering to blonde that probably cant even stand her own against a cockroach?

'Hes like a wild animal.. If a human pulls him out of his environment and abuses him, hes gonna learn to hate all humans'

I sigh loudly and shut my eye "Look, how about you take these cuffs off? Then I can be off on my merry way." I hold up my wrists where the two silver bands are clicked on tight. I watch her frown as she steps towards me.

"Okay well where are you gonna go? You had absolutely nothing on you when we brought you in. No money, no ID, nothing. Not to mention you don't even remember anything or anyone, so what's compelling you to leave?" She crosses her arms in a way that makes her breasts threaten to pop out that tube top of hers. She thinks I'm lying about it all, still. Honestly, if that was the case then I could have very well left last night, I had every opportunity to. I'm not sure if that white haired bitch had locked the door but the window would had been easy to break if I so desired to. But I didn't. That has to say something, right?

"Because 3 out of 4 of the members ive met so far have not been the greatest to be around. On top of landing me in this damned place, with no memory, you assholes feel the need to shove me cuffs and make me stay here." I growl and narrow my single eye up at her.

"We healed you, gave you food, AND a place to stay! If we were assholes then we would have just left your bleeding body to die on the concrete!" She raises her voice above mine. Her soul pricks with anger, but I'm much to interested to pull away from the mild pain of it.

'Had not been for me, Natsu would have probably left him there! Fuck me for actually trying to help him! I just want to help, actually make it up to him! He's misguided, that's it. And fuck my eye out with a spork if I'm not being honest when I say I'm would try my best to make everyone see he could change. We did it with Gajeel, why not him?' Natsu.. I make a mental note of the name. It quickly takes the top spot of my rapidly growing 'fuckers I want to gut with a ladle' list. On a different and more important note. Change? She wants to change me? She's using this shit as an opportunity to change me? Not to mention she's completely convinced it's a nice thing to do? How fucked up in the head is this blond?

"I'm not gonna change. And just because you do this manipulative shit when I'm not myself, doesn't mean I'm gonna stop being myself. In fact, blondie, I'm gonna burst your bubble here. Your not helping me in the slightest. Your taking advantage of my state to mold me into something you prefer." Venom etched into my every word, despite my efforts to keep my emotions under lock. I can feel her soul shrivel up into a bead of guilt as her anger drops away. Watching her face fall hurts me in the most concerning ways. I don't care. No, correction. I don't want to care but since shes the only one that gives two shits about me I probably feel compelled not to be a complete asshole towards her. She's quickly proven to be delusional, though. To be fair, everyone in this building seems to be just as bad.

"I... I guess your right. Maybe Lissana was right.." She mutters and falls to a sit on the bed next to me. I scoot over to put a acceptable amount of space between us, since these people prove to be a fan of invading my personal space. Last time someone sat next to me she tried to touch my face, calling me a name that sounded all too familiar. "I just want to help you, cobra. You didn't seem to have the most glamorous life. From serving under those lunatics to sitting in prison all that time.. I wanted— no, i still want to think you deserve better. That underneath that shell is a soft squishy turtle." I can't help but feel myself shrink as her face softens at the thought of just doing something nice to me. For ME of all people. For fucks sake, didn't she say I tried to sacrifice her to a clock? Either she's really fuckin nice or really fuckin stupid, and I'm starting to put my money on the ladder.

She smiles as she turns towards my, bringing her legs up on the bed and crossing them. Nearly killed her, but with the way she's looking at me you would never suspect it. I flinch when she grabs for my hand. Despite how soft her hands feel, I have no desire to have them touching mine. "I'm just trying to see your cuffs" She says with a roll of her eyes. Yea, I know what she's doing before she even does it, and what her intentions are before she even opens her mouth. That also implies that I know full well she doesn't believe she can take them off, and is really just trying to touch me for the sake of touching me. 'Oh Mavis does he smell good...' Her inner voice muses, splitting completely offtrack from her other thoughts once again.

"How about you just go ask for the damned key" I grumble, trying not to think about how the fuck that mindfuck of a soul works. 'Key? How old are those?' She thinks to herself and grabs mine without a single word, lifting it so she can see the small key hole at the bottom of the cuffs. Damn does her hand feel soft though.. Bet they'd feel fuckin great wrapped around my...

I pull my hand back and stop the thought in its tracks. "Your damned stare can't open the fuckin thing, I hope you realize." I feel the need to say, despite her being far too wrapped up in her thoughts to pay attention. 'Cancer? No.. Taurus could break it off, and probably his hand along with it.. Oh, Virgo might!' I'm almost afraid to ask what the fuck a Virgo, Taurus, and Cancer is.

"Punishment, princess?" I nearly have a heart attack when a pink-haired... Something.. Puffs into existence next to her. Celestial Mage? It's incredibly fitting. Wait.. Princess? Oh please tell me that's some kind of nickname. I can completely see the whole 'perfect princess wants a taste of hardship' thing going on for her.

"No, but can you pick a lock?" She motions to my cuffs. The celestial spirit turns her eyes towards me in a small glare. 'He's one of those guys who hurt Lucy and she wants me to pick the lock to release him. I will be sure to punish him thoroughly if he lays a finger on my princess' Even the maid-like spirits soul is as deadpanned as her face. She softly grabs the metal of my wrists and turns them over to see the lock.

"Yes I believe this should be simple." Virgo mutters as she taps the metal band. "I will be back" She poofs out of the room just as suddenly as she came.

"She's a celestial spirit" Blondie answers a question I never had. Okay yea I don't know who the hell I am, but I know what a celestial Mage is.

"Mhm" I hum just to give a response. The rest of the few minutes she's gone is spent in silence. She shifts in her seat and avoids my eyes as I stare at her, which is no fun. That staring contest was the most entertainment I got so far. Her discomfort is somewhat amusing, though.

"What?" She huffs when another minute passes and she notices my eyes are still locked on her. I just shrug, apparently causing her to self consciously fix her hair. "Seriously whats with you and staring at me?" Her annoyance starts to show through in her chocolate eyes. That purple haired chic just stared back with way too much emotion, the demon doesn't give a shit when I stare, and that one old lady.. I was too busy slowly dying to have any fun with her. Blondie here is the only one that actually entertains me.

My eyes snap to the punk haired spirit when she returns with a large axe. That... Isn't a lock pick.

"Um.. You DO know what I mean by 'pick the lock', Right?" Lucy says carefully as she gets up and takes a careful step towards the maid-like girl.

"Of course princess. I just couldn't find anything to pick it with" The small girl says nonchalantly, holding an axe that's nearly bigger than her. "Will you hold out your wrists" Her full stare moves to me as she speaks. She adjusts the axe, hoisting it up as if shes about to slam it down right on top of me. Like hell in letting that thing anywhere near my body! They gave me amnesia, shoved medicine in me by the liter, and I'm gonna take a wild guess and say they had something to do with my eye. I a loosing a hand to these dumbfucks.

"I hate to break it to you blondie, but your spirit is a dumbass." I mutter, not taking my eyes away from the large double sided blade.

"You can't.." She trails off with a heavy sight. Okay. Alright. Thanks for trying but I think I'll figure something else out" She rubs her temples and closes her eyes, annoyance swelling through her soul.. She quickly declines yet another request for punishment from the masochistic spirit and commands her to return. I relax when the maid-like girl poofs away, glad to know I'll be keeping my hands. I still have the cuffs, but I also still have my hands. So, in my book, it's a win.

"I might need to have a chat with Mira.." The blonde sighs once again and slouches down. Mira.. I'm guessing that's the white haired demon. 'Oh sweet Mavis why does everything have to be so difficult.. Maybe Lissana will know what she did with it? Ugh... Not even she's on my side with this though..' Lissana? Maybe the purple haired chic? I really need to start actually paying attention to names. There's only so many nicknames I can make, and an even slimmer amount that don't involve hair color.

"You know, your yet to tell me your name." I realize it's off topic but I'm still curious nonetheless. By looking at her, I'd guess it's something generic like Sarah or Ashley. No offense to her, but she seems like the stereotypical 'I want to help everyone and everything because everyone deserves second chances' goody two shoes.

"Oh! That's right. Well I'm Lucy. It's nice to officially meet you" She holds out her hand for me to shake and smiles. I look down at the hand then back up at her with a bored expression. Does she honestly expect me to shake her hand? Of course she does. 'I'm trying to help him, the least he can do is shake my damned hand!' She mentally grumbles in frustration. She's 'Helping' me? That's debatable. I sigh and shake her hand, but it's only to make her happy.

No, scratch that, I'm not trying to make her happy. I'm just.. Doing it because it's a normal thing to do.

I don't give I shit about her. I just need her to get my cuffs off and then I can leave. In fact, I'm using her. Yea.

I stare into her soft brown eyes, and this time she holds my stare.

"I'm not playing your childish game again, Cobra" Childish game? No, it's improvised entertainment.

"I'm not stopping you from looking away." I grin, when she glares. 'Oh this bitch.. I swear, I'll circumsize you with a spork.' Her mental comment only adds to my smile.

Yea

Improvised entertainment.

 **A/N: Another chapter done TvT. Looking back over it makes it look so much smaller than it felt when I was writing it, and I wish I could make them so much longer. Yet when I try to do so it just feel too dragged out.. Ugh. Well, I wont ramble on about my problems. Thanks for reading ^_^**


	4. Chapter 4

It's two hours later that the Kinana comes in and disrupts Lucy and Cobras optical death match. Lucy's face flares with heat but she forces her eyes to stay connected with his this time, even though her mind is screaming about how suggestive this must look. As time went by they managed to end up sitting cross-legged across from each other, and the foot of distance is doing nothing to calm her fluster. How the poison slayer manages to stay so calm is beyond her, but he does an amazing job of keeping his cool.

"Are you two okay..?" Kinana asks softly as she closes the door behind herself. No, of course she isn't okay. She's been sitting here for Mavis knows how long! Her legs ache, her ass is numb, and she's hungry! Yet every time she thinks about backing out she sees that same damned look on his face.. That smug 'I'm better than you' smirk that pulls at the edges of his mouth. It's infuriating. Lucy was never much of a violent person, yet that look in his eyes never fails to make her want to Lucy Kick him right in the dick.

"He's deciding to fill his time with meaningless games. He wanted to have a staring contest so I'm just entertaining him." Lucy says in a matter-of-fact tone and shifts to a kneel for what much be the millionth time. It's impossible to get comfortable when Mr 'I'm a fucking robot with no perception of discomfort' is constantly judging her, jumping at any chance to be a cocky asshole. Honestly, all slayers really are just taller, slightly more intelligent children.

"Oh, that's..." Kinana trails off as her ever present happiness falters. "Sweet" She finishes as she takes a seat on the bed with the two, not that far from cobra. Cobra tenses as soon as she sits down. It's barely noticeable, but the blonde still catches it. She can't imagine what's so wrong with the girl that he had gotten uneasy enough to tense. She's sweet, no way in hell she did anything to him. Perhaps...

Lucy's eyes narrow when she barely sees from her peripheral vision how much closer she's sitting at the side of the bed. The girls shoulder is almost touching his back. A smile twitches at her lips at the thought of asking the girl to help her win. Cobras eyes narrow as well, no doubt hearing her inner schemes. So he really does have quite the issue with personal space huh?

"Why are you both blinking then?" Kinana asks queitly, a little innocent pig in the tense pasture that is their situation. His in particular it seems. Kinana crawls forward next to him, peering over at his eye most likely to check if he's blinking. He indeed has been blinking as well. Not blinking isn't the objective here, that should be obvious enough. Thanks to her curious crawl, her shoulder brushed his, lighting a fuse of unknown length to his breaking point. She can see the flick of the flame in his eyes as it lights the metaphorical wick. The smaller girl sits on her knees next to the man and watches the two with confused eyes.

"We're not seeing who blinks the quickest, it's just a game to see who looks away first." Lucy fills the girl in with a voice no louder than a whisper. As if saying it any louder will break her concentration, which very well may be the case. Their eyes continue to bore into each other's, the presence of the girl easily being put on the backburner. At least, it's easy enough for Lucy. Cobra, however, seems to be fairing much worse with the closeness of the visitor.

"Don't." Cobra's sharp growl suddenly cuts through the silence. Lucy's eyebrows furrow at the aggression behind the word just as much as why it was said. It only makes the blond very curious as to what Kinana could have possibly thought to elicit it. As far as she can tell he hasn't been all that aggressive. At least not towards her. She can't help but thing, perhaps hope, she may be a special case. That out of all the two other people she knows of him meeting, he likes her the most. Even so, he's still can be quite the cock to Lucy as well. Though.. Shes not quiet sure why she would want special treatment from an ex criminal.

"I'm sorry" Kinana mutters and stares down at her lap.

"I don't know who the hell your talking about" Cobra mutters, his eyes set into hard, nearly violet orbs. Yea, definitely very tense. And what does he mean he doesn't know who she's talking about? She isn't even talking, for one. For two, why the hell is Kinana so friendly with him?

"Jeez she's in here for five minutes and she already got you pissy? Your really not a fan of people invading your personal space huh?" Lucy says with feigned lightheartedness. She should know it's hard to pretend around someone who can hear your soul. She still tries to pretend she isn't suspecting the girl has some type of connection with him, and he remembers that connection. She can't very well picture the small purplette annoying him in some way, but with the unreasonable way he's acting towards her.. Okay, now that she thinks further into it there are several reasons he could be on edge. She is in fact sitting close enough to touch him if she scoots just a bit, and he's proven to have a strong dislike for this place. So really, him remembering a connection to someone is just wishful thinking on Lucy's part.

"I'm not a fan of her in particular." Cobra says, barely more than a grumble. His response only feeds into her hopeful suspicions. Lucy, from the corner of her eye, can see the said girl sigh and fold her hands on her lap. A sad smile is still played across her lips as she stares down at her lap. Her eyes soon after lift to stare at his face again, her expression soft and unchanging. Lucy can oh so clearly see the annoyance in his eye as the girl stares at him. As long as Kinanas here, there's a high chance he'll loose his cool. Oh the ways Lucy is going to rub it in his face.. She can't wait to see shock slip past the 'i don't give two shits about anything' mask he tends to have.

'It's about time he's ego gets knocked down a couple inches.. No, a couple miles would be nice.' Lucy mentally muses, uncaring if he can hear here. Judging by his expression, he isn't paying much attention to her. His eyes have that glossed-over look again, making it look as if he's looking through her eyes rather than at them.

Lucy smiles widely when Cobras eyes tear away from hers. He pushes himself up off the bed and roughly grabs the smaller girls arm. The girl is reduced to a glorified ragdoll in his hold, stumbling to keep on her feet as he drags her across the room. Her glory fades to confusion and worry as she watches him open the door and all but throw the petite girl out of it. Her mouth is left hung open as he slams the door in her face when she so much as tries to talk.

'W... What the fuck...?' Her mind draws a blank. The girl could very well come back in, but she doesn't. But the way cobra handled his anger was... Much more peaceful than expected. In fact, it was almost comical. Not at all a criminal-like thing to do. He wordlessly sits back down on the bed exactly how he was before, resuming to stare at her.

"I won.." Lucy points out, only to beam with a smile when she truly realizes it herself. She won. He cracked! Although it was such an odd way to crack, he had done it. He looked away from her just to through a girl out a door he couldn't even lock. The realization makes her snicker.

"Good for you" His unamused voice breaks her mental celebration. Good for you? Two fucking hours of waiting and all she gets is a good for you? It must be the annoyance, it has to be. He's probably just too annoyed to care. 'No way he sat here for hours on in just be fine with not winning!' Lucy mentally whines.

"Never considered this a game, sugar tits" He shrugs.

"Then why the fuck are you staring at me?!" Lucy leans in, resting her weight on her palms at she shoves her face right up to his. Their noses are nearly touching as she glares.

"Because it's easier to hear you" His expression doesn't change, and Lucy quickly realizes how odd that is. He quickly lost his shit when Kinana sat near him. 'Maybe I really am special..'

"Oh yea your 'special' all right." He scoffs, yet doesn't budge. Lucy leans in and bumps her nose against his, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. His eye widens a fraction, but other than that he makes no moves to pull away. "Yea you might wanna back up."

Lucy raises her eyebrows and mental questions why. Cobra only grins. She doesn't have a moment to question his smile before a certain pink fireball comes barreling through the door. Lucy squeaks and shoves herself back just in time to avoid any contact with the fist that makes contact with the side of Cobras head. It's obvious the poison slayer heard it coming, yet he made no attempt to dodge it.

"NATSU!" Lucy shrieks as Cobras body flops down against the bed. Lucy has to grab his arm just to keep the overly pissed fire slayer from pummeling the semi-defenseless man. "You punch pretty good for a guy with pink hair" Cobra muses as he shifts to a sit, rubbing his head where his fist hit.

"Why are you STILL defending him?!" Natsu points dramatically to the older slayer and yells.

"Would you quite down!" Lucy yells and slaps his hand down.

"Your yelling too!"

"Shhh!" Lucy shoves both hands over her mouth and cranes her neck to see the door he left wide open. His noise hasn't attracted any unwanted attention yet. Yet.

"Why?!" Natsu yells through her hand, the sound hardly even muffled.

"I'll be happy to shut em up for ya" Cobra mutters, his eyes taking on that same violet Kinana had elicited minutes prior.

"Bring it on Snake Boy!" Natsu growls and climbs on Cobras bed.

"Don't provoke him!" Lucy hisses and pulls at his arm again. He grabs a fist full of Cobras shirt and pulls his forehead to his, glaring at him.

"You and pinky here got a thing goin or somethin? He's awfully jealous of how much you've been up here" Cobra teases, tipping his head to avoid a punch to his nose. Lucy blinks several times as her face beams red. 'Jealous..?'

"She's spending her time with a CRIMINAL. I'm just lookin out for her" Natsu growls.

"Looks like i hit a soft spot." Cobra chuckles and brings his hands up to pull Natsu's off his shirt. "But I suggest you scoot your ass back." Lucy runs a hand over her face as she gets up. They've made enough noise for her to assume that's not a threat, but a warning. She drags her feet as she makes her way over to the door. So much for keep things under control..

She steps to the door just in time to meet Makarov at it, as well as Erza, Mira, Lissanna, and Levy.

"I hope there is a good explanation for all this racket, brat!" Master steps around her legs to address Natsu, who abruptly pulls back from the one eyed slayer. "Yes, I believe I forbade you from coming up here" Erza narrows her eyes and cracks her knuckles. The boy squeaks and quickly removed himself from Cobras vicinity as fast as the pink haired Mage can possibly manage. Before Lucy can even begin to protest everyone files into the room, along with the exceeds, Gajeel, and Gray. The room quickly gains a small audience, and Lucy shares Cobras discomfort on the matter. Lucy can only sigh as the room fills with argue and chatter. She's trying to get him to loosen up to everyone, starting with her.. Having all these people that hate him around him isn't helping in the slightest.

"Hey he's still technically recovering so how about we keep the 'harassing cobra' stuff down to a minimum?" Lucy suggests with a nervous laugh as Erza pulls a large hammer from her magical armory when the said man refuses to take any of her questions seriously.

"I simply asked if he remembers anything. If he's incapable of answering something so simple he must be lying!" Lucy sweat drops at her red headed friends logic. Yea he could be lying, or you know.. Intimidated, annoyed, or a million other various emotions mixed with a number of varous other reasons. Erza seems all too eager to overlook every possibility that makes him innocent, though.

'Cobra, please just go with it okay?' Lucy's thought are specifically directed at him, hopping he will hear here over everyone else. Cobras eyes come to lock with hers not a second later, so she takes that as a sign he had. 'Please, cobra. They're not bad people, they're just not on good terms with the old you' This whole mentally addressing thing feels weird, but it's well worth it judging by how he rolls his eyes and actually responds to the several questions Erza has spewed in the last 30 seconds.

"No I can't remember shit, no I didn't hurt blondie, and no I'm not trying to fucking infiltrate your god damned guild and fuck with any of you" Cobra mutters his answers. Lucy smiles proudly and crosses her arms as she watches the poison slayer play somewhat nice.

"So you really don't remember not a single thing of your own memory? No names or faces?" Master asks with a worried frown.

"Not a thing"

"That's impossible! Then how do you remember how to talk!" Natsu points dramatically again.

"I just know"

"That makes no sense"

"Yea I know."

"So you retained everything except your personal memories and information. That's odd.."

"Yep"

"So you don't remember not one person here?"

"Nope"

"Or what you did?"

"Nope"

"And you have no desires to harm any of us?"

"Well.."

"Outside of Natsu"

"Nope"

"I see..." Master speaks up after everyone had finished their questions. He rubs his chin thoughtfully and everyone falls silent.

"I dare say I believe you.. And I can't very easily convince the council to contain you when you have already been legally released, not to mention the amnesia.." Makarov muses and paces the foot of the bed. Lucy watched with a hopeful expression, the only one with any kind of positive response in the room.

"That's not fair he attacked me first!" Natsu says with more dramatic pointing.

"No he didn't, shush!" Lucy hisses at the fire slayer, making him pout and fall to a sit on the floor. Such a child..

"Lucy my child, you've spent quiet the number of hours in here yes?" Lucy perks up as Makarov turns to her as well as everyone else. Her face burns wit embaressment as she remembers just what she spent all those hours doing.

"Yes that's right!" She confirms with a sigh. Even if the majority of the time spent in here had just been her keeping his gaze like a stubborn child, she had indeed spent the most time with the man.

"And has he tried to hurt you or anyone else in any way?" Lucy quickly shakes her head.

"No of course not. In fact, it's Mira and Kinana that have been putting him on edge, and even then he's been calm despite the downright rude behavior on are part. Actually, I've been meaning to suggest removing the cuffs.." Lucy adds hesitantly, poking the ends of her fingers together as a distraction from her nervousness. She isn't surprised with the small master shakes his head.

"No, the cuffs will have to stay. But I will take your word and allow him a bit a freedom. But i will be sure to place you in a much more restricting situation if you do anything to harm anyone" Makarov turns to glare at cobra.

"I'm so scared" Cobra couldn't sound more unamused.

"What kind of freedom?" Levy is actually the first to ask.

"I see no reason why he should stay cooped up in this guild when he's healed. Besides, him staying here at night doesn't sit well with me"

"So.. Where's he gonna stay?" A brilliant question from Levy once again, one Lucy dreads the answer to.

"Lucy." With masters confident words comes an uproar of angry protests from her friends.

Lucy slumps at the masters confidence. Having one slayer constantly at her apartment is enough, she does NOT need another one messing things up.

"But..." Lucy mutters but everyone is already off stating their arguments, filling the room with an obnoxious amount of noise. "Why me.." Lucy huffs as she watches the onslaught of people defend her, saying how he'll make her suffer. Oh he probably will, but not in the ways they claim he will. Jeez.. 'Why can't they be a little more optimistic?' It's certainly not a thought she would have ever thought she needed to think.

"Children!" Makarovs a voice booms. "Have a little faith. If I see anything amiss or by some means he remembers anything, I assure you he will be properly contained. Until then, the only thing we can do is wait"

Lucy gulps thickly as reality finally catches up with her.

She's going to be living with a criminal.

A dragon slayer criminal.

Oh the jewel she's going to have to waste on food..

Lucy mentally whimpers as she thinks of all the expenses, the whimper turning into a full on cry when she realizes she wont even have the small amount of privacy she had at home anymore.

'Mavis have mercy...

* * *

 **A/N: Ahh I feel like the chapters are getting shorter and shorter TvT. I hope it isn't too terrible though, or feels rushed. I actually hadn't planed for Cobra to be moving in with Lucy this fast.. But whatever, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thanks for reading. (And thank you for the lovely follows and favorites! I'm glad to know there's people out there enjoying this mess lol)**


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